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Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

The back and forth continues. US International Trade Commission Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender has made an initial ruling that some Samsung's devices violate four Apple patents, including one iPhone design patent (the one you see above) and three software patents. Apple didn't manage a clean sweep, as Samsung was cleared of treading on two more patents, but the verdict still carries the all-too-familiar potential for a trade ban if the ITC maintains the findings in its final review. It's bleak news for the Korean company, which faced an initial loss to Apple at the ITC just last month -- even though large swaths of the mostly Android-based Galaxy phones and tablets in the dispute have long since left the market, an upheld verdict gives Samsung one less bargaining chip in a protracted legal war.

To say that the launch of Isis has felt drawn out would be a mild understatement. The alliance first signaled its intentions two years ago, detailed its first markets one year ago and faced a last-minute delay. All the ducks are finally in a row, however, and residents of both Austin as well as Salt Lake City can tap to pay (or score discounts) at the "hundreds" of locations that accept NFC-based purchases through American Express, Capital One, Chase and Isis' own cash card. Launch day brings app- and SIM-enabled access for nine devices spread rather unevenly across AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon: only the Droid Incredible 4G LTE is confirmed working for Verizon subscribers, while the rest are divided more equally between multiple Samsung Galaxies and HTC devices like the Amaze 4G and One X. Over 20 phones should be Isis-aware before the end of the year. It's a potentially strong start to one of the few truly cross-network mobile payment systems in the US, but we see a long road ahead before Isis gives Google Wallet some jitters -- there's legions of banks, cities and stores needed before Isis is widespread, and we're not counting on that ever-elusive universal hardware support.

While we could easily see this coming, it's still good to hear the news more directly: Isis has confirmed that its delayed mobile wallet system will arrive on October 22nd. The company's marketing lead Jaymee Johnson tells us that the NFC-based commerce should start in the previously mentioned Austin and Salt Lake City areas. We haven't been given a formal device list, but "as many as" 20 smartphones should be compatible by the end of the year. We can think of at leastfour. More details will follow on the day in question, although we already know that the cash-averse will need an Isis app, a special SIM card and compatible SmartTap terminals at stores. That's a lot of conditions that have to be satisfied just to lighten the strain on our pockets -- all the same, we'll take it when the alternatives are moving slowly.

Mr. Blurrycam has struck again, and this time he brings us a launch date for T-Mobile's Isis Mobile Wallet pilot program by way of TmoNews. According to the image (which you can catch after the break), the Isis app will arrive on Google Play come October 22nd for folks in Salt Lake City, Utah and Austin, Texas to take for a test drive. Another image reveals that those who activate their mobile wallet could snag $10, and an additional $15 if they convert their Isis Cash card into a reloadable prepaid card. Call one of the two cities home and can't wait to put the NFC payment solution through its paces? You'll need an Isis SIM card and a Samsung Galaxy S III, S II or Relay 4G to partake in the festivities. For those outside the lucky cities, there's still no word on when Isis will fully launch.

According to a leaked roadmap on TMoNews, the magenta carrier appears to have a few tantalizing offerings coming its way this holiday season. A curious BlackBerry handheld dubbed the Armstrong, a color refresh of the Samsung Galaxy S II, a possibly Android-flavored Huawei Summit and the LG Optimus L9 are all slated to launch just on or before Halloween. Going into the next month, we see the HTC Windows Phone 8X making the pre-Thanksgiving cut with a potential debut of November 14th. Notably absent are the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the Nokia Lumia 810, but that doesn't mean they won't be there when December rolls around. Of course, this info didn't come through official channels, so we wouldn't bank on any of the handsets as holiday gifts just yet. Still, its nice to know they're coming, and you can get the full details on these and other devices at the source.

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

If you've ever thought it was impossible to score an excellent smartphone alongside a prepaid plan, it's time to reconsider the assumption. Just like the Galaxy S II will soon arrive at Boost Mobile for $360, those willing to brave the crowds at Walmart will save some cash with T-Mobile's version of the handset, which now sells for $299 -- in comparison, T-Mobile currently sells the Galaxy S II for $550 outright. As one caveat, the phone must be sold with a no-contract plan of at least $30, but one can discontinue service whenever they desire. If your wallet is now tingling, you'll find the full PR after the break.

As you may or may not know, there's been an issue related to the universal search feature inside a region-specific batch of Samsung Galaxy S IIIs; with the Korean company going as far as "inadvertently" removing it from some Euro handsets a while back, before eventually bringing it back to life. Now, thanks to great, thorough inspecting by the folks from Android Police, it appears T-Mobile's S II flavor is the latest galactic slab to have such searching trait completely wiped out from the device. Apparently, this took place during the T989UVLH1 update from T-Mo a couple of days ago, but much to everyone's surprise, mentions of any "universal search" tweaks were nowhere to be found on the changelog. More importantly, how's it looking on your end? Do let us know in the comments below.

Mobile payments, those made from a phone and typically via NFC, haven't exactly had a huge impact on the average American consumer just yet, but look past that and you'll see a battle is brewing. Google had been making the most noise, with its Google Wallet, but today the competing service Isis just launched its first proper salvo. The T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S II is currently receiving an OTA update (T989UVLH1) that, among a few other tweaks, enables support for Isis NFC payments, making it the first such device on the market. Many more are inbound from AT&T and Verizon as well, setting the stage for an epic virtual currency battle that only the peaceniks at the Mobile Payments Committee stand a chance of mitigating.

Favorable infringement findings in hand, we knew Apple would seek injunctions to ban Samsung devices from being sold in the US. And now we know that Tim Cook and company are following up on that billion dollar verdict and are seeking to enjoin eight handsets from being sold. As you can see in the chart above, the Galaxy S 4G, four Galaxy S II variants, the Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Prevail are all on the chopping block. Why is Apple only going after eight of the twenty-something devices found to be infringing its IP? Well, most of them are no longer being sold, and we all know how Judge Koh just hates having her time wasted.

Square gets most of the media hype, but without an international presence, would-be competitors have had a chance to carve out their own niches in the mobile commerce market. Sweden's iZettle has managed to make quite a splash in its homeland, and it's expanding its mini empire by finally bringing its wares to Android -- albeit in an extremely limited form. Unless you've got a Galaxy S III, S II or a Note then iZettle still isn't for you and with availability in a single Nordic country, it might seem more accurate to describe Android support as being in beta, but the company has ditched the testing tag regardless. Rest assured, however, it is actively working to add more handsets and export the app beyond its particle board-loving borders.

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androidappappschip and pinChipAndPindongleeuropegalaxy notegalaxy s iigalaxy s iiiGalaxyNoteGalaxySIiGalaxySIiiizettlemobile paymentmobile paymentsMobilePaymentMobilePaymentsmobilepostcrosssamsungsamsung galaxy notesamsung galaxy s iisamsung galaxy s iiiSamsungGalaxyNoteSamsungGalaxySIiSamsungGalaxySIiiswedenTue, 21 Aug 2012 16:35:00 -040021|20305464http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/18/cm10-nightly-builds-now-rolling-out-to-select-devices/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/18/cm10-nightly-builds-now-rolling-out-to-select-devices/http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/18/cm10-nightly-builds-now-rolling-out-to-select-devices/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#commentsLike Jelly Beans, custom Android ROMs tend to have different flavors -- and CyanogenMod happens to be a fan favorite. Good thing then, that the CM10 team is now serving nightly builds of its Jelly Bean-based custom ROM update. According to the CyanogenMod Google+ page, CM10 nightlies are now available for the US Samsung Galaxy S III variants, the original Galaxy S and the Galaxy S II (i9100g), the Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus S and Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (P3), Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 (P5), Nexus 7, Transformer and Transformer Prime tablets. The list will fill out with more devices when they are ready, the team says, and will continue to have CM9 updates (now weekly, rather then nightly) at their disposal.

Apple rested its side of the case in its main lawsuit against Samsung on Monday, and with the switch of focus came a small sacrifice. While Samsung failed in a Hail Mary bid to have the suit dismissed, it successfully argued that a few devices should escape the clutches of a full-fledged ban. Don't get too excited, though: the exclusion list mostly touches on phones that only reach US shores through unofficial importers, including the Galaxy Ace as well as international editions of the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II. The decision still leaves the American variants of phones under scrutiny, and it doesn't change Apple's hopes of a large licensing fee for all the alleged transgressions. We'd still say the exemption provides some small amount of relief for Samsung, however. Most of Apple's early, less-than-flattering accusations of trade dress violations focused on the more familiar-looking foreign Galaxy models and lose some of their thunder when leveled against the conspicuously altered designs that eventually set foot in the US.

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Despite the sweltering heat waves, our spirits are high at Engadget, and for good reason: it's time for our summer edition of the smartphone buyer's guide. Here, you'll find our top recommendations for the best smartphones across several US carriers, along with the best QWERTY and budget alternatives. In many ways, it's now easier than ever to find a world-class smartphone, but unless you've developed a strong brand preference, choosing one is likely more difficult than ever before. It's no secret that the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III have firmly cemented themselves as the premier smartphones of the day, but if you're torn between the two, we'll reveal our preference in this latest installment.

Summertime also brought a bit of a shock, as Microsoft revealed that Windows Phone 8 apps won't be compatible with the current generation of Windows Phone hardware. For this reason, we've excluded all Windows Phone handsets from consideration in the latest buyer's guide. While the future of Microsoft's mobile platform looks incredibly bright, a purchase now would guarantee obsolescence in the short-term. Instead, all prospective Windows Phone purchasers must wait for the next generation of handsets to become available -- you'll regret it otherwise.

Naturally, there is no shortage of rumors surrounding the next Apple iPhone, and given the handset's current lack of LTE connectivity, the iPhone 4S is certainly showing its age. While cautious purchasers may choose to bide their time, the iPhone remains top-notch in many other respects, and its arrival at a number of prepaid carriers brought a breath of fresh air to an otherwise stagnant environment.

If you're curious to see how it all unfolded -- and we know you are -- join us after the break, where we round up the very best smartphones of the season.

Just as the leak last night indicated, Samsung is finally ready to deliver Ice Cream Sandwich to Sprint's Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch. Samsung also announced today that US Cellular's similar but WiMAX-less SCH-R760 Galaxy S II is getting the same (Update: an entirely different) FF18 update as well. The changelogs are available at the source links below, interestingly Android Beam is mentioned since these devices lack NFC, it's hard to see how that could be on the list. US Cellular users can download and install the update right now using a SimpleDL tool on a Windows PC, however unfortunately there's no support for any other operating systems at this time. On Sprint the update is coming out OTA and will slowly arrive on devices over the next few days, but if you're impatient then we'd keep an eye on the thread at XDA Developers for reports on how well it works as well as some sideloaded workarounds.

Update: So sorry for US Cellular folks, it appears your wait will continue. While sharing a tag, the update for your phone resolves an issue with getting GPS lock... and that's it. There's always CyanogenMod or AOKP, right? Also, while we're at it, check out the updated ZDA Developers link to download ICS for the Epic 4G Touch directly, plus a quick how-to install video (embedded after the break.) [Thanks @jbro456]

Feeling nerdy? Good, because the folks at DisplayMate have put together quite the comparison of the three different AMOLED displays featured in the Samsung Galaxy S, II and III smartphones. While the study places an emphasis on quantitative measures -- and thus leaves more subjective qualities out of the discussion -- the comparison is nonetheless an insightful look into the progression of Samsung's AMOLED display technology. Curiously, some elements remain unchanged, such as color gamut, which is 138 percent of the sRGB standard across all displays and is to blame for images that appear over-saturated. In terms of color temperature, DisplayMate reveals that while Samsung is trending closer to a white of natural daylight, even the Galaxy S III -- which measures 7,900 K -- is still far too bluish in comparison to an ideal 6,500 K.

Believe it or not, but there's one area that DisplayMate suggests is subtly worsening over time, and that's light reflection. The issue is nearly moot, however, as the 5 percent reflectance of the Galaxy S III is but a small shift from the previous iterations, and what's more, this remains among the lowest reflectance in the industry. We'd be fools to try and summarize all of DisplayMate's findings, but if you're curious to learn more -- and we hope you are -- be sure to hit up the source link below.

After seeing many other Galaxy S II variants get upgrades to Samsung's TouchWiz'd edition of Android 4.0, tomorrow should finally be the day for owners of Sprint's Epic 4G Touch. While the date has been rumored before, now TechnoBuffalo has posted the image above showing off the date and details, while Phandroid also points out that source code for the FF18 update has already arrived on Samsung's servers indicating a release is imminent. That the update is showing up just in time to still be out of date now that Jelly Bean is officially shipping however, still puts just a little drizzle on the parade.

Samsung's complete earnings results for the April - June 2012 period won't come out until July 27th, but Reuters reports its early guidance to investors estimates the company's profit at a record 6.7 trillion won ($5.9 billion). That's mostly due to strong sales of the ever-expanding (and increasingly targeted by lawsuits) line of Galaxy smartphones. Sales forecasts are slightly below earlier estimates, and while there's no specific numbers for each division, a Bloomberg breakdown of analyst predictions suggests there should be more good news to go around later this month.

While it's true a few lucky AT&T Galaxy S II owners were able to get their hands on the official upgrade to Android 4.0 just a matter of days ago, the company wasn't ready to push it out to the masses quite just yet. The initial tests must've gone as well as hoped, however, because AT&T will be ready to make ICS publicly available tomorrow to anyone willing to go through Kies to grab it. Indeed, the one drawback to this wonderful news is the fact that ICS doesn't just come to you... you need to go to it. As in, no over-the-air capabilities. The silver lining to that, though, is that this may actually work out better for anyone that feels better off sticking with the tried-and-true Gingerbread TouchWiz experience. On a sidenote, AT&T also reaffirmed its commitment to bringing the next version of Android to more devices this summer, but refused to specify which ones we can look forward to. Head below (or check out the source link) to learn how to grab the update.

The Hulu Plus app for Android has been updated, and after adding tablets in the last update it now officially supports a few more devices, most notably the Galaxy S II family, Galaxy Tab 2 and HTC One S, among others. While sideloading the APK previously worked for some unsupported hardware, now they can be directly installed from the market. Also noted in the changelog for this version are improved support for 7-inch tablets, and high resolution screens. Hey, we wonder if any new 7-inch Android tablets with high resolution screens might be arriving soon?

We've seen T-Mobile roll out Android 4.0 for its Galaxy S II variant, and now another American carrier is joining the pack. AT&T has started pushing out Android 4.0.3 (no 4.0.4, oddly) to its near-reference version of Samsung's 2011 range leader. We wouldn't brace for any surprises over the conservative OS updates seen elsewhere in the world, but it will at least give you Chrome for Android without turning to custom firmware. The odd man out among the major US carriers is Sprint's Epic 4G Touch -- it's still humming along on 2.3 for now, and neither Sprint nor Samsung has given any further signs that they're ready to make the leap.

Update: A spokesperson tells us that these initial updates are the real deal, but that they're test postings on AT&T's servers before it officially deploys to customers -- you may want to wait before hunting it down. The full-scale rollout is "live very soon," we're told, and customers can check the company blog if there's ever any doubt.

ARM is still cooking its next-generation Mali-T604 mobile graphics, but it has what could be a massive lift to performance coming considerably sooner through the Mali-450 family. The architecture is almost almost literally two Mali-400 chips (the same that powers the Galaxy S II) grafted together, and the maximum eight cores accordingly run up to twice as quickly as what we saw just a year ago. The real achievement might be just be targeting the Mali-450 at a more down-to-Earth audience: where the 400 was all about conquering the high-end, ARM wants the 450 to focus on mid-range and even entry-level phones. Design work for the new Mali video should be done before the end of 2012, although it'll be up to chip manufacturers to carry the torch and finish work that likely won't show in phones and tablets until 2013.

It may be late in the evening here in the States, but for T-Mobile users, your time in the sun has finally arrived -- Android 4.0.3 is now available via Samsung Kies for the Galaxy S II. According to the carrier, the update won't be made available via an OTA download, which means that if you don't have a PC, you'd best shake down a friend at this late hour -- or, at least give 'em a call in the morning. In addition to Ice Cream Sandwich, the update is said to bring WiFi calling improvements and enhancements to the voicemail system. It'd also be wise to ensure that your phone's software is up-to-date before you begin, as Android 2.3.6 is a prerequisite of the upgrade. Ready to dive in? Just hop the source link for the complete set of instructions.